Strange Fire
by ClintonBush43Obama
Summary: OK, so this one is a shout-out to elang4 and her excellent Lost & Found epic! I took the twist regarding Rory's parentage and the premise of how Luke and Lorelai met in that fic. But then, I went and took off with it in another direction. Be prepared for lots of 80s references, good humor and a fluffy story about family. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Sperm by the Seashore

**Chapter 1: Sperm by the Seashore**

The party was raucous. Luke Danes could tell that much just from pulling up. Being a socially stiff person, a populated environment, but especially a _celebratory_ populated environment, was the last place in the world he wanted to be. But he didn't have a choice. His parents had insisted he accompany his pregnant little sister, Liz, to this party. Along with her brown-nosed friends. Something about protecting her in her fragile state.

Ha! Luke knew damn well that Liz could look after herself, pregnant or not, and that his usefulness to her would end the moment he opened the door to the car. He was less a bodyguard than he was a chauffeur tonight - nothing more, nothing less. His sister did nothing to dispel this knowledge, as she indulged Luke's helping her out of the back of the van. Her friends tumbled out after her more or less independently, conditional on their degree of drunkenness.

"Come on, Liz, hurry! We're missing it!" one called. They raced out of the parking lot and onto the sandy dunes of the beach, the disco lights and Tranz-am speakers beckoning as seductively as the Nayeds of Greek mythology.

"Liz!" Luke's call barely made her turn back. "Stay with your friends. Don't go too far. Any dude puts his hands on you, kick his ass. And _don't_ over-exert yourself."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, _Dad_. Whatever!" And then she was gone.

Luke's nature would normally dictate that he sit in his car until at least one girl came staggering back supporting the others and then that would be that. But News Year Eve was no ordinary night of partying, just as Harvey's Beach was no ordinary beach. Though their pull was less mesmerizing than it had been for the girls, the lights and music still, slowly but surely, pulled the 19-year-old stud into the crowd.

Teenagers from various ages - some looked as young as middle school - danced together in a claustrophobic mosh pit. An endless loop of all the latest hits - Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Elton John, Phil Collins - blasted above the crowd. Most of the guests paid the quiet baseball star no mind, except for those who glanced at him wearily, thinking perhaps that his inconspicuous demeanor and imposing physique identified him as some kind of bouncer.

The thought made Luke smirk. He was no bouncer. And even if he was, what bouncer could possibly control this shit-show, much less on an entire fucking _beach_? A shindig like this required cops, and lots of them, perhaps with tazers blazing.

The song suddenly shifted to a slow one - a Collins crooner - and the crunch of people became only thicker as couples came together for a little slow dancing. Luke squeezed past people to wriggle himself free, lest an unattached lady grab for him. _"I can feel it coming in the air tonight..."_

Though he never discussed his particular musical tastes, Luke had to groan at the song. The British rock legend's time heading up Genesis had been so much more lucrative, in his humble opinion.

Yup. Just another boring night, this New Years' Eve of 1983.

But perhaps, not boring for long. A short distance away from the main hubbub, over by the wine coolers, Luke noticed a couple arguing. The guy had a blonde bimbo within arm's reach, while a black-haired, pretty-faced girl - presumably his girlfriend - was busy ripping him a new one.

"Fuck you, Christopher! Going off eating this bitch's face! Cheating on me!"

Though he had to disapprove at her choice of words, Luke could not help but admire this girl's spunk. Liz might be a wild child herself, but he doubted that even she could bat away guy's advances or injustices with this much... temerity.

The girl now stormed off, heading for the coolers before popping a BudLight and downing it almost in one. Intrigued, Luke moved closer.

"Everything OK?" His inquiry made the girl nearly jump out of her skin, snorting up some of the liquid through her nose.

"You startled me!"

"Sorry," Luke took a step back, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I saw you reaming that guy out. He your boyfriend?"

" _Ex_ -boyfriend," the girl corrected. "And good riddance!" She paused, eyeing Luke. "So what are you? Bouncer? Undercover cop? Making sure everyone's on the straight and narrow?"

"Why does everyone think I'm a bouncer?" he marveled, only half to himself.

"Maybe because you're butch, Butch!" a passing gal in a bikini suddenly cat-called. Her posse of lady friends hooted and screamed assent.

"Want me some of that!"

"Sexy!"

The black-haired girl burst out laughing at Luke's deer-in-headlights stare. "You don't take compliments very well; you look like you've just seen a ghost!"

"Maybe because it's less a compliment than a nickname," Luke mumbled. And in his view, a poor one at that.

"What? Butch?" the girl smirked, amused.

Luke shrugged, flushing. "A sports moniker." He'd heard it often enough on the baseball field of Stars Hollow High. He decided to change the subject. "So what do they call you?"

The girl flushed red herself. "Lola. Nice to meet you, Butch." She held out her hand. For some reason, Luke found himself laughing and shaking it in kind. He guessed he'd go along with it. For now.

"Look, I really am sorry you got used by that dick. The way he's flitting about, looks like he never left pre-school." Luke nodded in the direction of that Chris fellow, who was now rolling around in the sand with his blonde paramour.

Lola let out a bark of laughter. "Special Ed, more like it."

"Still, you don't deserve to be treated that way. No girl does."

Lola blinked, captivated by Luke's honesty. "A chivalrous one! Such a rare find these days..."

"Only if you don't know where to look," Luke shrugged. "My sister never has. She's cycled through a series of bums; got herself knocked up by one, too."

Lola laughed. "Ain't it always the way?"

"Yeah, but hopefully not forever."

"I'll drink to that!" Lola raised her beer skyward, before plucking another from a cooler. "Think fast!" Luke barely caught it.

That first shared beer soon gave way to a second. Then a third. A fourth. Between shots, Lola would deftly take pictures of both herself and Luke with her disposable camera. To be both photographer and subject took great skill indeed. Luke soon forgot about his pregnant sister and her bitchy friends, his eyes only for the enthralling black-haired beauty before him. He was vaguely aware that Lola led him over to a picnic blanket a short distance away, where the pair sat and watched the dancing, listened to the music. The DJ's "Last Call!"reverberated into the night. A Prince single came on: _"I ain't got no money / I ain't like those other guys you hang around / It's kind of funny / But they always seem to let you down..."_

"Truer words were never spoken... er, sung," Lola groused, leaning her head on Luke's shoulder. She sounded sad. Luke felt sorry for her. As the song wrapped up, he could hear the crowd starting to yell the countdown to midnight.

"Five!... Four!... Three!... Two!... One!"

His timing was way off. He only meant to kiss her cheek to console her, but instead Lola shifted her head at the last second, pressing her lips to his. They held the kiss for a moment before breaking apart. Lola's eyes - blue as sapphires - sparkled in the moonlight. "Happy New Year."

Suddenly, Luke was kissing this girl as if he could not stop. And she was kissing him back. Luke rolled her onto her back, before pausing. Did she want this? Did she consent? As if answering his silent question, Lola grabbed his hands and had them bunch up fistfuls of her shirt. Taking that as a yes, the couple divested themselves almost reverently of their clothing. Hovering over her entrance, Luke paused, just to be sure.

The look in Lola's eyes indicated she thought his caution sweet and gentlemanly. She nodded. Slowly, Luke pushed into her. There was a gasp as Lola's hands scrabbled for purchase along Luke's rippling back muscles. As he began to thrust into her, her grip soon shifted so that she was bunching the picnic blanket up in her fists.

"Uhhhhhhh... Ohhhhhhhhhh... UHHHHHHH! Yes... Harder... Harder! Faster..."

Luke obeyed her every moan and breathy command as if under a spell. His thrusts soon morphed into pounds, Lola thrashing and shrieking with pleasure beneath him.

"Grrruhhhhhhh!" Luke felt himself burst into his release, pulsing with a steady beat. When the last of his semen was ejaculated into her, the former baseball star collapsed on top of his lover and moved no more. The last he felt before drifting off was Lola nestling his face in between her breasts.

* * *

The sky was somewhere in that halfway land between black and grey when Luke awoke a few hours later, still nuzzled in the embrace of his tryst. Lola was staring at him with a soft smile. "Good morning," she purred, kissing his nose.

"Where... where are we?" Luke groaned, shifting around to take in his surroundings.

"The beach, still," Lola slurred.

"Shit!" Luke scrambled off of her, diving for his discarded clothes. The stretch of sand was quiet, deserted; the Tranz-ams and disco lights were long gone. "LIZ!"

"I'm sure she's fine," Lola waved away, rising to her feet herself.

"The way she drinks? No way in hell! LIZ!"

Lola merely re-dressed, unconcerned by Luke's growing panic.

"I have to go! I, uh... thank you," Luke stammered out. "See you around... Lola."

Lola smirked. "I had a great time... Butch," she purred.

Luke stumbled away across the dunes, back the direction he had come, eventually finding his way to the parking lot. His van was gone. Had Liz commandeered it with her friends and tried piloting it back to Stars Hollow? If she was driving drunk and something happened...

Using a nearby payphone, Luke managed to call a cab. Just as his ride arrived, he spotted Lola hustling across the parking lot, carrying her sandals. Luke gave a half-hearted wave, even though her back was to him.

He didn't know it then, but that would not be the last he saw of Lola. Their paths would cross again... only this time, under very different names.


	2. Chapter 2: Lola Becomes Lorelai

**Chapter 2: Lola Becomes Lorelai**

When Luke finally returned to Stars Hollow around first light that same morning, he amazingly found his sister, safe and sleeping off a hangover, as well as his parents, looking super pissed. Luke did not even try to fish for an explanation; he had none. All the same, Liz did not help matters, running her mouth about how Luke had managed to bed some girl. The way she told it, her big brother had _'scored.'_

As 1984 rolled on, Luke resumed working in his father's hardware store, and tried to put his New Year's Eve tête-à-tête out of his mind. What he _couldn't_ put out of his mind was the girl, Lola. Her sapphire eyes, her intelligent wit - beauty and brains was a precious combination in a woman. Sure, Liz was striking in her own way, but when it came to intelligence, she was dumb as rocks.

One day in mid-March, Luke was busy restocking some shelves when a group of men came striding into the shop. Approaching from the back, Luke took over the counter; his father was outside momentarily, taking out the trash.

"Welcome to William's Hardware; how can I...?"

"Are you Lucas Danes?" the leader of the posse asked without any salutations.

Luke blinked. "Yes, that's me..."

The leader, dressed in a suit and glasses, suddenly flashed a Polaroid in his face. "Is this you?"

Upon closer inspection, Luke nearly dropped the photo. It was a shot from Lola's camera the night of the New Years' Eve party. Luke's stunned expression gave away his identity in the affirmative. Nervously, the young man looked from one tuxedo-ed man to another. Who were they? Bodyguards for some tycoon? Undercover cops? Oh no... Secret Service agents? Luke couldn't recall off-hand if President Ronald Reagan even had a daughter, but if he, Luke, had fucked her without knowing...

No matter who these guys were, Luke suspected that he was in deep trouble.

"Put your hands up!" the leader ordered. "We're under authorization to take you to Mr. Richard A. Gilmore immediately!" He drew a gun on the young baseball star, waiting only until his associates linked their arms into Luke's and behind his back before withdrawing it.

OK... not agents of the President, then. It was small comfort, though. Luke had a hunch that this Gilmore tycoon had worse planned for him than anything the President of the United States could think up. Especially if Luke had fucked with this Gilmore's daughter.

"Luke? Son, what's going on?" William's path was blocked by a uniformed guy not on his son.

"Don't worry, Dad! I'll be back!" Luke could only call over his shoulder as he was forced from the hardware store and into the back of a van. "I hope..."

* * *

Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, also known as 'Lola', had been throwing up. The frequent visits to the toilet had been happening ever since just after New Years' and with increasing regularity. Then, when her period was late, Lorelai had managed to pilfer off a pregnancy test from a friend.

The little slip of paper came back pink. Her parents were going to kill her! Then dance on her grave for good measure.

Of course, Richard and Emily Gilmore did neither of these things, but in Lorelai's mind, they came damn close. It did not take long for the Gilmore matriarch to put two and two together, and once she did, she demanded to know what had happened. Being as stubborn as she was, Lorelai refused to give herself up without a fight. Sadly, however, she didn't have to. Her father confiscated her camera, quickly gaining access to the photos of the party on New Years' Eve. The party she had snuck out to attend. Besides the pictures of Luke, shots had also been taken of Christopher. However, when her parents demanded to know if Chris was the father, Lorelai couldn't tell them.

Summoning Chris was easy enough. Richard called the boy's parents, Straub and Francine Hayden, demanding they submit their son for questioning. To apprehend Luke, Richard hired a team of private investigators to track the ruffian down. After decades in the legal profession, when it came to his daughter's pregnancy, Richard Gilmore would serve as judge, jury, and - if necessary - executioner.

This was where Lorelai found herself now, nursing the baby bump which had still not begun to show, but that she knew still carried a baby within. She had told her parents all that she could. The father could be either one of those boys. She and Christopher had fucked in her room the night before the party. And then there was the mysterious... Butch...

If she had her preference, Lorelai knew she would prefer her bad boy mystery lover from the beach. She and Christopher had still not gotten back together, and it was doubtful they ever would. Besides... Butch had been hotter. _Way_ hotter.

Lorelai knew she should be scared. And if she was honest with herself, a part of her was. But another part was filled with breathless... delight, knowing her womb was filled with the baby of ... someone. One of two men. The thought was scandalously... romantic...

A commotion coming from downstairs summoned Lorelai out of her room and into the foyer. A combination of happiness and horror crossed Lorelai's face as the team of private investigators hauled in her Butch like he was a piece of meat. The couple's eyes met, and they instantly recognized each other. Off to one side, Christopher looked totally befuddled. He didn't recognize this punk who was being brought in.

But Luke sure recognized _him_. And the girl he had shared that one magical night with.

Lorelai kept her eyes on the young Danes. "There he is, sweetie," she crooned half to herself, half to the baby inside of her. "Your father."

Richard Gilmore got right up in Luke's face. His skin coloring slowly changed from orange to red to a radishy purple. "I knew I'd find you..." he growled low.

Scared as he was, Luke did his best not to flinch. Scenarios whirled through his head. If the President Reagan hypothesis had been nixed long ago, the one he now clung to was that he was in the presence of some underworld mobster. A page ripped straight out of a _Godfather_ movie.

Richard abruptly turned away. "Obtain the sampling."

All at once, the agents were tackling both Luke and Christopher onto sofas in the living room. Pinned to the cushions, Luke felt something prick his arm, and he growled through the pain of his own blood being forcibly drawn from him. But at least he was holding up better than Christopher. The poor shit was sobbing like a little girl on the couch opposite him.

Once the vials of blood were obtained, the agents passed them off to Richard. The Gilmore patriarch then turned to his daughter. "Get in the car. Right now."

Lorelai kept her gaze steely, unmoving, as he marched out the front door with her head held high. The girl's mother grabbed her coat, before following her husband out. The door slammed shut ominously behind them.

Flanked on either side by armed agents, Luke and Christopher could do nothing but stare at each other. Well, glowering was more like it. At least that's what Chris was doing.

"Who the _fuck_ are you?" the young Hayden spat. "What were you doing with my girlfriend?"

"What were _you_ doing with that blonde ditz on New Years' Eve?" Luke volleyed back.

"No talking!" one of the agents barked. "Mr. Gilmore and his family will be back from the hospital in a few hours and we'll have our answer!"

"To what? Who knocked her up? Please, we all know it's me!" Chris grumbled.

Luke openly snorted. However, he quickly looked away when one of the officers gave him a glare.

"What are they going to the hospital for?" Chris piped up. Either he was painfully lacking in his awareness of the agents' No Talking policy, or he simply didn't care. So it came as a surprise when one of boys' guards even bothered to answer him.

"DNA from Ms. Gilmore's fetus needs to be obtained to match against yours and... Butch's here." One of the agents sent a smirk in Luke's direction, making the baseball star squirm.

"Butch?" Chris barked in laughter. "What a funny name!"

"Not as funny as the one I've got for you, Ponyboy!" the Head Agent barked.

Chris scowled, even as his brow creased in confusion. "Ponyboy?"

" _Outsiders._ Even I get that reference. Really, dude? Really?" Luke groaned almost tiredly.

"Shut up!" the Head Agent snapped.

Hours passed like this. The guards kept watching Chris and Luke. And Chris just kept running his mouth. He asked to go to the bathroom. He asked for water. He even requested a sandwich. And each time, these entreaties were met with an unequivocal "No," from the agents.

At last, the sound of tires pulled into the drive. Lorelai entered first, crossing immediately to a chair situated between the two couches as if she was a dog on command. Emily and Richard followed her, giving away nothing on their faces. Then, Emily turned to Christopher.

"You may go, Christopher," she said almost sweetly, as if nothing untoward had happened at all. "Say hi to your parents for me!" At this declaration, Luke's heart sank into his stomach. Oh, shit...

"Ta-ta, Ponyboy!" one of the agents waved mockingly as Christopher made his escape, shooting daggers at Luke all the way. As soon as the door closed behind the young man, Emily and Richard took his place on the couch opposite Luke.

"And as for _you_..." Emily snarled. "Congratulations. You have invented a new kind of stupid. A damage-you-can-never-undo kind of stupid. An open-all-the-cages-in-the-zoo kind of stupid. Honestly, you couldn't think this through? Kind of stupid!"

"You know, you could have just said I fathered your daughter's baby. In so many words," Luke about yawned. "Although, admittedly, you should make a career in rapping. MC Hammer much?" He was satisfied to hear Lola stifle a giggle beside him.

"Lorelai Gilmore, you stop that this instant!" Emily screeched.

Luke chanced a glance at her. Lorelai... so _that_ was her name... he should have figured Lola was only a pseudonym...

"Don't look at her! Keep you eyes on me, _boy_ ," Richard seethed. "I know you. I know your type. Poor-as-dirt kid looking for dough off of my daughter! _My_ daughter! A real gold digger, ain't ya, son?"

"I wasn't looking for any such thing!" Luke passionately defended himself. "I met her at a party. That perfect little snot who I'm guessing was your preferred suitor? He cheated on her; she dumped him. We got to talking. Drank a lot. One thing led to another..."

"... And now she's pregnant with your filthy spawn!" Emily spat.

Luke's eyes narrowed in anger. "My filthy... what did you say?" But the mother just rambled on.

"Of course, Lorelai can't _possibly_ marry you, even if it were to save face. You're not of good breeding!"

Luke sprang to his feet, ignoring the tensing of the agents around him. "How dare you!"

"Mother! Shut up!" Lorelai screamed.

"You are in no position to tell me what to do, young lady! You are to go up and pack your things, leave this house and never come back!"

Lorelai stormed up the stairs. Luke observed this latest exchange in horror. "You would disown your own daughter before accepting your grandchild?"

"It's best for everyone," Emily waved away. "Now you get out of my sight!"

"With pleasure! Just do me a favor: yank that stick out of your _ass_ and beat yourself over the head with it!"

Luke didn't get out of her sight, however. He waited in the foyer while the Gilmore parents and the agents talked in low tones. After a moment, a tear-stained Lorelai appeared at the top of the stairs. She stopped short when she saw Luke. "What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for you. Come on. We're getting out of here." Luke held out his hand to her. After a moment, Lorelai took it. The pair then fled the mansion. Lorelai managed to take command of a Nissan SUV - the most inexpensive car the Gilmores owned, Luke noted. Then, the two youngsters sped off into the night.

* * *

 **A/N: "This is not what I asked for / Sometimes life just slips in through a back door / And carves out a person, who makes you believe it's all true... and now I've got you. / You're not what I asked for / If I'm honest, I know I would give it all back for a chance to start over and rewrite and ending or two / For the girl that I knew / Who'd be reckless just enough / Who'd get hurt but who learns how to toughen up / When she's bruised, and gets used by a man who can't love... / And then she'll get stuck and be scared of the life that's inside her / Growing stronger each day, till it finally reminds her / to fight just a little, to bring back the fire in her eyes / That's been gone, but it used to be mine..." ~ Sara Bareilles, _Waitress_**


	3. Chapter 3: We're Partners Now

**Chapter 3: We're Partners Now**

The first half of the drive passed in silence. Lorelai kept her eyes resolutely on the road, even as her eyes progressively began to fill with tears. Glancing over at her from the shotgun seat, Luke knew she could not keep up such a steely facade for long. And indeed, the dams eventually opened up, Lorelai bursting into tears and letting forth wracking sobs. Luke made her pull over, and he took over the duties of driving. Pulling back onto the highway, he set a coarse for the one place on Earth where he felt safe, and where Lorelai would have to go; she had nowhere else.

"Where... where are we going?" she sniffled.

"We're going home. _My_ home. Stars Hollow," Luke got out.

"Where's that?"

"About 30, 40 minutes from Hartford."

"No," Lorelai's gaze was hard. "Don't stop driving. I want us out of this area; I want us out of this state!"

Luke sighed. "Lorelai... I can only imagine what you must be feeling. I would be hurt beyond repair and angry too, if my parents threw me out. But, my place is the only option left."

Lorelai grew quiet. "You don't have to do that," she mumbled. "I could..."

"Raise a baby alone? In this country the way it is today? Sure. You just keep telling yourself that."

"I could _so_ raise it alone!" Lorelai cried, offended and outraged.

"No one is saying that you couldn't. I'm certainly not! I admire your pluck, but reality has a really cruel way of stifling ambition. Besides, it's my baby too!"

" _Our_ baby," Lorelai corrected softly. "It's _our_ baby."

Our baby. That phrasing actually made it sound all the more real. In a matter of months, Luke was going to be a parent, alongside a girl he hardly even knew! The thought made him chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Isn't it strange that I know your... body, know you are carrying my offspring... but I don't even know what your favorite color is?"

Lorelai side-eyed him for a moment, wondering if he was serious. "Blue. What's yours?"

"Brown. Like coffee."

"Coffee?" Lorelai suddenly squealed, gripping his arm. "I LOVE coffee! I could drink it all day, every day, but of course, my parents wouldn't let me!"

Luke laughed. "Well, I'll make you a mug once we get home. How does that sound?"

Lorelai smiled. "You know, Butch..."

"Luke," Luke smiled. "It's Luke. When I hear Butch, I immediately have flashbacks to my time on the baseball mound."

She laughed. "OK... Luke... I think this could be the start of a beautiful... relationship..." The nature of said relationship, however, was left ambiguous.

* * *

Luke had barely stepped out of the Nissan parked just in front of his parents' hardware store, when his mother accosted him.

"Thank God!" Katerine Danes cried, hugging him close. "Where have you been? Your father said these men took you!..." She peered around him to see Lorelai standing there awkwardly. "Who is she?"

"Lorelai Gilmore. Mom... you remember that New Years' Eve party I took Liz to?" And Luke was off, telling his mother about meeting Lorelai and sleeping with her; how her father had sent out private investigators to hunt for him and bring him back; the forced DNA test; and finally Lorelai's abandonment.

"It's my baby, Mom!" Luke stopped, correcting himself. "It's Lorelai's and my baby. We know what we did was wrong, but please... she has nowhere else to go."

Katherine approached Lorelai. The young girl tensed.

"How old are you, child?"

Lorelai flushed. "I'll be 16 in the next several weeks."

Luke's face fell. Oh God... He was 19.

Katherine looked upon Lorelai with sympathy. "You're welcome among us. Stay here as long as you like."

* * *

Luke took Lorelai up to his room in the apartment above the hardware store. Finding some baggy pajamas of his, he let her borrow them and change in his bathroom just beyond. When she was in there a while, he knocked on the door tentatively. "You done yet?"

"Just a minute." Her sweet voice had a very strange effect on Luke's pajama bottoms; they tightened. At last, Lorelai stepped out. Even with no make-up on and her hair frizzy, she looked... beautiful.

Luke stopped himself from staring and cleared his throat. "No spare couches, unfortunately. We'll have to share... my bed..." Luke and Lorelai climbed into bed together. All was quiet for a moment, boy and girl lying flat on their backs and staring at the ceiling. Luke finally reached across Lorelai to turn off the beside lamp.

"Well, good night..." He was cut off as Lorelai suddenly propped herself up on her arms and kissed his lips. Upon breaking apart a moment later, Luke stared.

"What was that for?"

"For being so kind. Our baby's going to be lucky to have a sweet daddy like you."

Luke gave her a kiss in return. It quickly got more heated, culminating in Lorelai pushing Luke onto his back and straddling him boldly.

"Condom?" Luke croaked out, even as his libido strained in protest and Lorelai planted kisses along his jaw.

"Little too late for that, wouldn't you agree? Not like I can get pregnant again when I already am," Lorelai murmured.

There was no refuting that kind of logic. Tossing aside her sleep shirt while undoing Luke's pajama bottoms, Lorelai settled on top of him. Pretty soon, the pair were making slow, sensual love. Their sweaty limbs caressed each other in an almost feathery fashion... The couple kissed deeply, yet tenderly...

* * *

Lorelai awoke a few hours later, alone in the large bed. She felt for her lover next to her, but she sensed only the lingering presence of his body heat. He wasn't there.

"Luke?" Sitting up, her eyes fell on him looking out the window, the moonlight casting an ethereal glow on his bare back. Smiling softly, Lorelai rose, draping herself in one of Luke's bathrobes. She leaned against the wall just behind him, her expression somewhere between amused and tender.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

Luke glanced back to her. "You looked so peaceful. Besides, the baby... you need your rest. Get some sleep, Lorelai."

"Come back to bed," she begged him playfully.

"I will in a minute."

So Lorelai left him by the window, staring up pensively at the moon.


	4. Chapter 4: Bangles and Kicks

**Chapter 4: Bangles and Kicks**

Spring slowly progressed into summer. Alongside the young expecting mother, the flowers found a new liberation, a new freedom.

Lorelai turned 16 proper in late April. By that time, the rest of Stars Hollow had been made aware of the new stranger in their midst, as well as the situation. There were those who passed judgement of course, on both Lorelai and Luke, but Luke's ever-increasing protectiveness over his family ensured that these comments were never voiced aloud. Later, as Lorelai began to prove herself by working in the Danes' hardware store, she began to gain the respect of her new neighbors. In return, she grew to like the little town of Stars Hollow, eventually voicing to Luke that it seemed the ideal place to raise a child.

One morning, Lorelai was up in her and Luke's room, getting ready for her afternoon shift downstairs in the shop. She had one of her cassette tapes playing - only some of the possessions she had brought with her from Hartford. This time, it was a song from the Bangles.

 _"I'm going down to Liverpool / I'm going down to Liverpool..."_

All at once, Lorelai winced in pain as something kicked her stomach. From the _inside_. Her hands flew to her abdomen. She waited. There it was again! The baby was kicking! At that moment, Luke appeared up in the apartment.

"Bathroom break," he explained away, but stopped short at the look on Lorelai's face. "What's wrong?"

"Come here," Lorelai beckoned to him with a smile. Taking his hand, she guided it to her now-pronounced baby bump and placed it gently over the spot where...

"Whoa!" Luke nearly pulled his hand away in surprise, were it not for Lorelai's grip on his wrist. "Is that...?"

Lorelai smiled. "That's our baby, Luke."

Luke stared in amazement. He felt Lorelai's bump again. Felt another kick. "Well, with a kick that strong, it's _gotta_ be a girl!"

Lorelai laughed, and he laughed with her. "She's rocking out!" the young mother marveled.

"Yeah... to the... Bangles?" Luke frowned as he listened to the song emanating from the cassette tape. He spoke to the Bump. "Young lady, we're going to have to talk about this, you and Daddy, when you come out." The baby gave another kick in response. "She's feisty! But more than that, she's happy!"

Lorelai suddenly burst into tears. It was the hormones, she knew, but she didn't care. "Of course you are!" she cooed to her abdomen. "Of course you are; how could you not be? I love you so much!" and her emotional declaration of love conveyed a willingness to do anything, _be_ anything her child needed.

Luke knelt at Lorelai's feet and happily kissed her baby bump, his girlfriend's tears falling onto his face and hair...


	5. Chapter 5: Lorelai Leigh Gilmore

**Chapter 5: Lorelai Leigh Gilmore**

The months progressed. Lorelai became steadily more pregnant. At a certain point, she was barred from even coming downstairs into the shop, instead confined to bedrest in her and Luke's room. Just waddling to the shower required a test of endurance; her stomach was out to her feet.

One crisp, autumn night in early October, Lorelai was eating potato chips and ice cream while lying on Luke's bed, watching the small television set. The channel was turned to some game show; election coverage was by this time pointless, as everyone knew President Ronald Reagan would crush former Vice President Walter Mondale.

Suddenly, Lorelai felt a huge twinge of pain in her abdomen. She knew right away this wasn't the baby kicking. No, this pain lingered. "Owww..."

Then, she saw the puddle of fluid beginning to soak the bed.

* * *

Luke had been in the shower when he heard his girlfriend scream. He stumbled out in nothing but a towel, half-shaven, to the realization that her water had broken. Lorelai was in labor!

Thank goodness his mother had packed an overnight bag for Lorelai, which Luke now slung over his shoulder before scooping the mother of his child up in his arms. Carrying her to his truck, Luke drove the short distance to Stars Hollow Hospital. As hospitals went, it was your standard small-town country practice, which for both parents, suited their purposes just fine. A big metropolitan clinic, like St. Francis in Hartford, or some other place in New Haven, would have felt too stressful.

Once Luke and Lorelai got there however, they seemed to remember that childbirth takes many hours. They had all the time in the world, essentially. This explained why Lorelai filled out the admittance forms and other paperwork herself. She even began to feel calm again. All the same, the doctors wheeled her into delivery on a stretcher as soon as all the documentation was in order. As he was not her husband (at least not yet), Luke had to fight the doctors to be allowed back with Lorelai in almost comical fashion; acquiescence was achieved only when he identified himself as the baby's father.

As the contractions began to come in rapid succession, Lorelai let loose screams. Horrible, hideous, agonizing screams. Luke could only hold her hand, kiss her hair - and duck when she sent a fist his way in her morphine-induced, pained state.

"All right, Lorelai, now start pushing! I love you, Lorelai; I love, love, love you! Look! I can see her crowning!"

With one last push, the baby slid out of Lorelai with a wail. A doctor cut the cord, cleaned her up, before passing the bundle off to Luke. The young man's eyes filled with tears. This little creature was his. _His_. At least partially. And she was perfect.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," Lorelai rambled, the drugs clouding her mind. "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore..."

Remembering his girlfriend's middle name was Victoria, Luke stifled a groan. Oh no... two Lorelais was going to be a Herculean effort of tracking. Just keeping up with the one Lorelai was hard enough. But, he decided to be fair.

"That's a great name, honey," he agreed with his girlfriend. "But do you think we should have a nickname for her? Telling the two of you apart will be tough!"

Lorelai chuckled, amused. "How about... Rory?"

Luke smiled. "Rory it is." Beautiful. Just beautiful.

* * *

 **A/N: I struggled to find the right title for this story. But I think this chapter, and a certain song I've been listening to, captures my ultimate choice really well:**

 **"I come to you with strange fire; I make an offering of love. / The incense of my soul is burned, by the fire in my blood. / I come with a softer answer to the questions that lie in your path / I want to harbor you from the anger, find a refuge from the wrath... / This is a message, a message of love / Love that moves from the inside out, love that never grows tired / I come to you with strange fire!**

 **Mercenaries of the shrine! Now who are you to speak for God? / With haughty eyes and lying tongues, hands that shed innocent blood ... Strange fire burns with the motion of love!" ~ Indigo Girls**


	6. Chapter 6: Horrid Rory

**Chapter 6: Horrid Rory**

Halloween, 1990. Luke Danes waited at the bottom of the stairs in his Doc Brown _Back to the Future_ costume.

"You gals coming down yet?" he hollered up to the apartment.

His daughter, Rory, appeared on the landing, sporting a red wig. She was Ariel from _The Little Mermaid_ , her favorite Disney movie that she would not stop talking about. "I'm ready, Daddy!" Lorelai followed, dressed as the Julia Roberts character from that _Pretty Woman_ movie.

Luke laughed. "You all will be the Belles of Stars Hollow!" Kissing his wife of a few years and patting Rory's head, each parent took a hand and guided their little girl out into the streets.

"Daddy? Why can't I eat any of the candy when we get home?"

"Because you don't want to get sick. Too much candy is bad for you," her father explained.

"Sssh, Luke! Don't tell her that!"

"Lorelai..." Luke warned. "I know of what I speak. The best way to have a long life is to maintain a nutritious diet." His father had died due to not watching what he ate. "But, I promise, princess, that I will put one piece of candy in your lunch at school every day. You'll still have candy six months from now if you eat it in moderation!"

Just then, Rory passed by the little family in the opposite direction. Luke did a double-take. Wait a minute... that _couldn't_ be Rory; he was still holding her hand...

"Did... I just see a kid dressed up as our daughter?" he asked Lorelai.

"That's Dean Forrester, from school," Rory whispered quietly. "I can tell because that lady's his mom." She pointed to the woman holding the Rory double's hand.

Luke shook his head in bewilderment. Brushing his thoughts aside, the Danes family approached the first house on the block: the Dugrays. Lorelai rang the doorbell, and the door opened.

"Trick or... treat?" Luke stared at another costumed copy of his daughter. Blond hair stuck up from behind a mask. Rory giggled. "Hi, Tristan!" she waved.

Luke felt himself stiffen in that overly-protective fatherly way. Why were the boys in town dressing up as his daughter? Lorelai stayed his arm, quickly collecting the candy for Rory that Tristan-Rory and Mrs. Dugray handed out. After several more houses were visited without incident, Lorelai dragged her family over to the party in the center square, under the gazebo.

But when they got there, Luke was horrified to discover yet another Rory. This time, the culprit was his own nephew, Jess!

"Liz!" Luke called his sister over. "What the hell? Why are all the boys dressing up like Rory?"

Liz shrugged helplessly. "Rory's really popular in school. All the boys wanted to impress her, I guess."

Luke fumed, spluttering in fury. Popular, huh? She wouldn't be after he castrated every last one of those boys. Even his nephew, for good measure; Luke seemed to recall that incest was frowned upon. Puppy love be damned!

Just then, Lorelai spotted one of the Rory's over by the pumpkin carving station. He was stumbling around. "That Rory's in trouble!" she pointed out to Luke. And it was. The Rory look-alike toppled into a pumpkin, crushing it to bits.

Despite his protective rage, Luke hurried over to the scene, his wife and daughter hot on his heels. The first Rory copy looked OK. "Stupid grass!" he muttered. He must have tripped. By the voice, it sounded like Dean.

The injured Rory was taken to the gazebo. There, the Danes family saw the Tristan-Rory from trick or treating earlier. He was crying, and his Terminator costume appeared torn. "What happened?" asked Lorelai.

"His candy bag and costume got caught in some bramble and tore," came the reply from Mrs. Dugray, "and he fell down!"

Luke tried to not act smug. "Not very clever now..." he muttered under his breath.

Then, Kirk whistled excitedly. "They're bringing in a third Rory on a stretcher! What happened to that one?" he practically sang.

Luke wheeled around in horror to realize it was his nephew. _I turn my back for one minute..._

"Stupid Rory leaned too far when bobbing for apples and fell straight into the tub!" said his sister, Liz.

Luke couldn't help it. He looked at the three Rorys and laughed. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the three Brothers Grimm: smashed, torn up, and sunk!"

It was one of the most interesting Halloweens Luke could remember. But the neighborhood boys remembered from that day on to never dress up as little Rory Gilmore again.


End file.
